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Anesthesia and analgesia and the curse of Eve
Published in Michael J. O’Dowd, The History of Medications for Women, 2020
Scopolamine (and atropine) is a naturally occurring antimuscarinic alkaloid from the belladonna plant. Preparations of belladonna have been used in medications since antiquity and were known to be poisonous in higher dosage. Scopolamine (hyoscine) was isolated in 1871 and is mainly found in the shrub Hyoscamus niger (henbane). Linneaus named Atropa belladona, a species of belladonna, in memory of Atropos, the eldest of the three Fates who cuts the thread of life. Atropa belladona is also known as deadly nightshade and yields atropine, an alkaloid first isolated by Mein in 1831, synthesized by Willstatter in 1896 and later used as a premedication for anesthesia. Atropine is found in a variety of plants including Datura stramonium, variously known as jimson weed, thorn-apple and devil’s apple.
Medicinal Plants of Central Asia
Published in Raymond Cooper, Jeffrey John Deakin, Natural Products of Silk Road Plants, 2020
Farukh S. Sharopov, William N. Setzer
Datura stramonium L. (Solanaceae) (Durman vonyuchego (Russian), Bangi devona (Tajik)) probably originated in the Neotropics but has been introduced worldwide where it has become an aggressive invasive weed (Witt and Luke, 2017). A decoction of the seeds is used as a gargle to treat toothache and headache, as an analgesic, sedative, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory (Sharopov and Setzer, 2018; Egamberdieva and Jabborova, 2018; Zaurov et al., 2013). The flowers are pounded and applied externally on the forehead to relieve headaches and on the eyes to treat pains in the eyes (Sezik et al., 2004). All parts of the plant contain tropane alkaloids, principally atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine (Figure 4.8) (Das et al., 2012; Gaire and Subedi, 2013; Singh and Singh, 2013).
Safety and Toxicity of Medicinal Plants
Published in Dilip Ghosh, Pulok K. Mukherjee, Natural Medicines, 2019
Neeraj Tandon, Satyapal Singh Yadav
Often the toxic constituents of a plant also vary in different parts of the plant, for example toxic amount of atropine and hyoscyamine in Datura stramonium Linn. or Atropa belladonna Linn. are present in higher amounts in fruits and seeds compared to the leaves and thus selection of plant parts for preparing medicine also determines its safety or toxicity. Altogether different to above scenario, using the whole plant or its part(s) as a whole often retains a pool of chemicals that interfere with each other in both a favourable and unfavourable manner. Interesting cases were reported in this context. One such interesting example is of the Saffron where reduction in the toxic effects of safranal was seen, when an equivalent amount of safranal was administered through whole extract of saffron, another important case reported was the reduction of toxic effects of reserpine due to the presence of ajmaline and rescinnamine in the Rauvolfia root extract. Another important example reported in this context is of Momordica, where administration of whole fruit extract of Momordica charantia Linn. was found devoid of anti-implantation and abortifacient effects in mice and had no effect on isolated rat uterus (Dhawan et al. 1980); whereas administration of its purified constituents, α- and β-momorcharins led to fetal death and abortion of fetuses in mice (Chan et al. 1984).
Plant poisonings in Australia: a retrospective series of calls to the Queensland Poisons Information Centre
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2023
Tamim Islam, Robert Knoeckel, Carol Wylie, Katherine Isoardi
More severe toxicity was seen in recreational or intentional exposures, particularly of anticholinergic plants, often occurring in young male adults, which is consistent with previous studies on plant exposures [2,4,8]. Our study identified anticholinergic plants to include Brugmansia spp., Datura stramonium, and, uniquely, Duboisia myoporoides. This may be due to species of Duboisia myoporoides being native to Queensland, further supporting the geographical patterning of plant poisonings [16]. In these cases, symptoms predominantly aligned with an anticholinergic toxidrome, including tachycardia, mydriasis, and delirium. However, since even small exposures to toxic plants can result in severe symptoms, eight cases with moderate toxicity were identified from unintentional ingestions.
Datura and Brugmansia plants related antimuscarinic toxicity: an analysis of poisoning cases reported to the Taiwan poison control center
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2019
Uyen Vy Doan, Ming-Ling Wu, Dong-Haur Phua, Bomar Mendez Rojas, Chen-Chang Yang
Datura and Brugmansia poisonings are reported in the literature but the causes of poisoning are different across continents and countries. Most cases of Datura poisoning in the United States are due to Datura stramonium seeds and are mainly attributed to recreational use in young adults and adolescents. The reported percentage of intentional misuse or abuse varied between 78.3% and 94.5% [1–4]. By contrast, the reason for reports of Datura poisoning was more diverse in European countries and had included various accidents such as touching flowers, cleaning the garden, misidentification of plants, robbery, and use of the plant in traditional medicine. Moreover, the incriminated plant species were not limited to D. stramonium, but also included D. inoxia, Brugmansia suaveolens (previously known as Datura suaveolens), and B. aborea [5–11].
Beyond LSD: A Broader Psychedelic Zeitgeist during the Early to Mid-20th Century
Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2019
Jacob S. Aday, Emily K. Bloesch, Christopher C. Davoli
The clinical applications of LSD were not altogether novel either, as researchers had been investigating the effects of psychedelics in clinical settings long before the drug’s synthesis. The clinical research settings used to test mescaline were quite eclectic, ranging from using mescaline in conjunction with projective tests like the Rorschach (Wertham and Bleuler 1932) to comparing the art produced by psychotic patients to those on mescaline (Guttmann and Maclay 1936a). Further, researchers were exploring the use of psychedelics as an adjunct to psychotherapy before LSD had been synthesized. The Italian psychoanalyst Baroni (1931) used a mixture of mescaline and seeds of Datura stramoniumas a tool in psychotherapy. Similarly, English-speaking researchers would soon explore mescaline’s potential in therapeutic settings. Guttmann and Maclay (1936b) believed that researchers could learn much about the pathogenesis of depersonalization by experimentally inducing it with mescaline, and thought that the experience could be therapeutic for some depersonalized individuals. Finally, researchers gained access to native peyote rituals before LSD’s discovery and speculated on the therapeutic and medicinal value of the psychedelic experience (Schultes 1938). Baroni most directly laid the foundation for using psychedelics as an adjunct to psychotherapy, but other researchers contributed to this foundation by way of pairing mescaline with clinical populations (e.g., psychotics, the depersonalized) and settings (e.g., projective testing, artwork). Like the LSD research of the 1950s and ‘60s, mescaline research began with scientists self-experimenting, then documenting its effects in healthy participants and, finally, exploring clinical applications.